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Hands-on Habitat Rehabilitation
RPS’ Albourne team volunteer to help restore River Ouse.
When it comes to protecting and preserving the environment, our team goes the extra mile.
On the 26th of June, eight volunteers from the RPS Team at the Albourne Office joined conservationists and staff from the Ouse and Adur River Trust to be part of a Habitat Rehabilitation Programme at the River Ouse.
Historical commercial efforts mounted a Dam to redirect water from the river, altering some of the natural components of the area. A dam stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams are essential in this case, as they not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability.
To preserve the natural properties of the habitat, landowners, the Ouse and Adur River Trust and RPS employees collaborated to restore the area and ensure biodiversity is thriving for wild animals.
Taking the Initiative
“Working together on the project with the river Adur and Ouse Trust was a unique experience.” Says Hannah Osborne, who is responsible for organising the volunteers from RPS and raising awareness of the programme’s importance.
Hannah is an Assistant Clean Water Modeller at RPS, but she is also staunchly committed to developing the Early Careers Development Programme, for which social value events, such as this one, are a major priority. For our RPS volunteers, it was an opportunity to go with the flow.
Learning by Participating.
The RPS volunteers commenced the day’s activities from the Cockhaise Brook section, a tributary of the Ouse. Experts from the Ouse and Adur River Trust initiated volunteers with an educational tour of the area and its history as well as a breakdown of the significance of the work they were set to do.
“We not only got to bond as a team and work together for a common cause, but we were provided a wealth of information on how our actions would benefit the environment,” said Hannah. “We were even educated on the various kinds of plants being planted, why, and each one’s respective purpose.”
Experts also informed volunteers with details on future rehabilitation strategies for the River Ouse. For example, the Trust plans on creating ripples in the bed for fish, to help oxygenate the water. Increasing water movement is the quickest way to increase oxygen levels, as it allows more O2 to dissolve and carbon dioxide to be released.
A Hard Day’s Work
The RPS volunteers started by constructing wooden structures and placing them by the sides of the river. These wooden structures help the river in providing flow variability. They also assist in pool formation and retaining water such as in heavy rain, thus, reducing the severity of flooding downstream, exponentially improving the landscape diversity.
The wooden structures encourage gravel build-up as well, benefitting invertebrates and spawning fish. These structures offer a long-term natural, self-sufficient habitat enrichment, an alternative to the usual invasive and expensive alternatives.
Benjamin Bower, an Assistant Data Analyst at RPS, was one of the volunteers on that day. “I do sit at my desk for my work, but at the end of the day, we are an environmental company. So going out and doing something like this shows other people we do care, and it shows we stand for what we believe in.”
The team also spent a great portion of their time tending to and sustaining the riverbeds, planting agriculture and flora, to encourage a thriving landscape for plant life to grow and flourish. One of these activities involved clearing out weeds from the riverbeds particularly an invasive flower called Himalayan Balsam. The wildflower was introduced from the Himalayas in 1839 and is now an invasive weed of riverbanks and ditches, where it prevents native species from growing.
The RPS Volunteers ended the day by producing and fusing a series of stick bundles. These bundles are used to catch sediment and naturally build up the riverbed, increasing the diversity of flowering plants and directly benefitting pollinators.
“The day enabled us not only to enjoy our local natural surroundings, meet and work with new people, and become more educated in sustainable habitat conservation methods, but it also allowed us to become invested in a larger long-term positive future for a local habitat.” Said Hannah. “It was truly a very rewarding afternoon.”
Social Value is an action.
“We aim to involve ourselves in causes like these as often as we can. We’re looking forward to the next one.” Says Ben.
Through social value events such as this, the RPS Team aim to utilise future opportunities to give back to the communities we serve and take sustainability initiatives and fighting climate change to the next step, even if it means getting their hands dirty. Literally.
“I hope it encourages other organisations to get involved in social initiatives like this.” Continues Ben. “Showing up to causes like this allows you to do something different and physically contribute to making a greater, greener planet for us all. You are making a change and you can actually see that change happen right in front of you.”
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About RPS
Founded in 1970, RPS, A Tetra Tech Company (RPS) is a leading global professional services firm of 5,000 consultants and service providers. Operating in 125 countries, working across six continents we define, design and manage projects that create shared value to a complex, urbanising and resource-scarce world.
RPS delivers a broad range of services in six sectors: property, energy, transport, water, defence and government services and resources. Services provided across RPS' six sectors cover twelve service clusters: project and program management, design and development, water services, environment, advisory and management consulting, exploration and development, planning and approvals, health, safety and risk, oceans and coastal, laboratories, training and communications, creative and digital services.
RPS stands out for its clients by using its deep expertise to solve problems that matter, making them easy to understand. Making complex easy.
For further information, please visit www.rpsgroup.com.